Philly Hospitals Prepare for Pope’s Visit

When thinking of Philadelphia infrastructure that needs to be readied to accommodate the many visitors coming to town to see the pope, one doesn’t necessarily think first of hospitals. And yet, the hospitals in and around Center City are on high alert with the pontiff’s visit just a week away at this point. The hospitals have to plan to provide adequate healthcare to what could be a serious influx of visitors.

Seen in this photo is Lankenau Medical Center, an area hospital. Photo credit: Daily Times.

Mark Ross, The Hospital & Health System Association of Pennsylvania’s regional emergency preparedness manager for the southeastern part of the state, said that area hospitals started preparing for the pope’s visit as soon as they knew that it was a real possibility. Ross said that hospitals preparing for large-scale events is a planning measure that dates back to 9/11. There are more than 50 hospitals in the Greater Philadelphia region, and they are all cooperating with one another to institute a preparedness plan for the papal visit.

Ross says that the hospitals are treating the pope’s visit like a severe weather event, and making sure that they have adequate staff on hand to deal with a potential overload of patients. Some staff will be sleeping at the hospital, he says. There are plans in place to ensure that staff members can park somewhere and be shuttled in, just in case there are parking issues (for those hospitals that are adjacent to the Francis Festival Grounds).

One group of patients with very real concerns for the weekend are expectant mothers. Those with due dates on or around the papal weekend have been calling Hahnemann University Hospital, which is affiliated with Drexel Medicine, and which is less than a mile away from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Officials at Hahnemann say that all patients should not worry, however, and that they are committed to making sure patients can still access hospital services even during the weekend’s madness.